>> activists in syria say many have been killed and injured after chemical weapons were fired in do mass cuss. >> hello, the other hop forries on al jazeera, a leak in japan's fukushima nuclear plant forces authorities to put it on the highest level of alert since the 2011 tsunami. the philippines capitol attempts to get back to normal after the heaviest rainfall on record. and the i-cow the new

technology that is transforming traditional farming. ♪ activists in syria say government forces have fired rockets armed with chemical war heads into several suburbs of the capitol. these pictures are said to show those effects by the attack. the activists say hundreds of people have been killed many of them children. the government is denying its use of chemical weapons. a team arrived to invest other attacks. what specific are the activists alledging? >> well, we have been reading and receiving many reports from different activist groups not just one or two, saying around 3:00 am local time the syrian army fired rockets and attached

were chemical war heads. the effected areas we understand are three. we have been seeing the videos you are seeing right now, that allegedly show both children and adults, some of them suffocating, coughing, sweating, and fainting and experiencing what looks like seizures inside the field hospital. we understand from the reports we received as well that doctors in the field hospital have been effected by the amount of overbearing, allegedly poisonous gases that arrived at the hospital, and that they don't have the right medication to treat these cases and they have been treating people with vinegar and water. these are the reports we have been receiving, we can't confirm the reports or death tolls we have been hearing about, some

reaching the hundreds, and we can not verify the authenticity of the videos we are seeing. it is a bit tricky because it has been very hard to try to confirm whether chemical weapons were used in syria in the last two and a half years. there is a un team that has arrived in syria. and that team is supposed to examine areas where the united nations security council has received reports of the use of chemical weapons. however, some have already criticized this un mission as having a very limited mandate. some experts are saying it will be very difficult for the team to find the recommend

-- remnants of chemical weapons. the government claims in march rebels used chemical weapons to attack civilians and a number of them were killed. the other two locations are undisclosed and it's highly unlikely the united nations team will be able to go to this area where we're hearing use of chemical weapons. >> thank you very much. huge numbers are trying to escape the violence in syria. the un says if the pace keeps up, the number crossing into iraq alone could 100,000 by next month. the refugees are mainly kurds,

and they say people are being targeted along sectarian lines inside syria. many children arriving are suffering from dehydration walking in the heat. pakistan's military says an officer has been killed by indian fire. another soldier was said to have been wounded. india's government has not yet responded to the report. pakistanian security sources said they have recovered tons of explosionives. in the coming hours a judge will rule on corruption charges against hosni mubarak. his lawyer will petition the court demanding he be freed. but he is also facing retrial

for negligence in killings two years ago. [ inaudible ] is due to arrive in brussels for emergency talks. what are we expecting, jackie? >> reporter: well, we're expecting to hear the foreign minister's repeating cause that we have already heard from various heads of state and government, namely urging all parties in egypt, particularly the authorities to end the violence. we have also heard many condemnations of attacks against churches and mosques, but it's quite difficult to see what kind of pressure the europeans can really bring to bare unless they wanted to look at cutting off aid. to do that is very problematic. for a start if they suspended aid and did something that was

seen as very aggressive, then they are cutting off the dialogue to try to improve the situation. and beyond diplomatic pressure, political arguments, it's quite difficult to see what kind of concrete measures the eu foreign ministers can implement. >> are they under direct pressure to act given the disproportion at it use of force we have seen. >> reporter: several european leaders have spoken out since we saw the hundreds of deaths as a

result of the intervention by the egyptian security forces to break up those pro-morsi demonstrations. we have had various european leaders absolutely deploring the use of violence, calling for a resumption of talks to try to find a political way out of this crisis. but as i explained, withholding aid could be counter productive, nevertheless we have seen the danish government say it is going to suspend some projects it is involved with, and the german government won't look at rescheduling egyptian debt this year. so we're seeing talking about suspending bilateral aid from some european countries, but it will be quite difficult for europe as a whole to take a measure to cut off any ability

for europe to talk and exert diplomatic pressure. >> thank you, jackie. japan has upgraded his evaluation of the leak in fukushima to a level 3. the plant operator is trying to emp empty a bank. caroline reports. >> reporter: 300 cubic meters of water has leaked from the fukushima plant. the authority says they have upgraded their assessment to a serious nuclear incident. they still don't know for sure how the radioactive water got out, but enough water to fill an olympic-sized pool in a week has somehow breached the tanks. they suspect the water got

through a rubber valve connected to a gutter, and now the water gathering outside is so toxic it would expose a person to more radiation in an hour than is healthy in five years. >> translator: we could say that we found a radiation level strong enough to give someone a five-year dose of radiation within one hour. >> reporter: contaminated water was also said to be leaking into the sea. they have been trying to deal with leaks of varying severity, when the nuclear plant pushed them into crisis in 2011. this suggests that they are a long way to go before the area is anywhere safe again. doctors without boarders has

ended all of its operations in sew mally because of increasing violence. now a new wave of attacked has forced it to withdraw completely. >> reporter: this is the hospital, one of numerous medical facilities in somalia. staff at the hospital on the out skirts are yet to come to terms with the move to close down itself operations completely. >> translator: msf has acted in the role of somalia's ministry of health for the last 20 years. >> reporter: msf provided for everything here.

it has also been paying the salaries of the 300 staff of the hospital. now they have only three months of medical supplies and funding before the organization stops its support. pulling out of somalia will stop access to health care to many people. it also performs surgeries on more than 3,000 others. leaving somalia msf says has been one of the hardest decisions it has had to make. >> we are not able to ensure the safety of our teams, and also we haven't been able to for a while now, to carry out independent assessments of needs. >> reporter: msf claims

[ inaudible ] were condoning attacks on its worker. the convicted killer of two msf aid workers was released from prison after serving only three months of a 30-year sentence. >> translator: we have not released anyone convicted of killing msf workers. let's stop the blame game, we urge msf to reconsider its position. >> reporter: but despite these vows, they are not returning to somalia as long as the conditions continue. coming up, putting a new law into practice. and could this be kodak's moment. the ailing photography firm is

being given the chance to snap it's a back into the black. ♪

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mubarak in the next several hours. and japan's nuclear regulator has upgraded its evaluation of a water leak to a level 3 serious incident. that's the highest level of alert since the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. the united nations says $153 million is needed for this year's aid package, but it has so far only received 57 million. food, agricultural support, food, and sanitation support is most needed. we were told by the un that they had updated their plans to help north korea's critical humanitarian situation, but if you don't have the money, what chance of putting those plans

into action. >> well, this plan has been in existence since last year. what we have done is to relaunch it and continue to emphasize the fact that it is a humanitarian mission. we have only got funding for 35% of the appeal, and therefore, it's -- it's really important to -- to remind international community that there are women and children who needs this humanitarian support. the fact that we -- we don't have cash in the country, or we may not be able to implement it is another matter, because we need to, we need to engage in procurement process that will take time, and therefore it's important to continue to bring attention to this issue. >> just how many people are rely act on humanitarian aide in

north korea. >> we have 2.4 nursing mothers, women and children who are dependent on food aid from the un, and a lot of it goes to schools, hospitals, and orphanages, where children are not receiving enough nutritious food to -- to -- to basically cater for their needs. >> but are you witnessing donor fatigue? >> we are. we are witnessing. and it's probably not surprising that donor fatigue always will be there and will be effected by the political climate around us, and this is why we're launching this appeal to make sure that humanitarian imperatives are kept separate from the political environment, because at the end of the day, you have women and children who -- who need our

humanitarian support, and their life will be affected by any lack of support for -- for -- both in the health sector, food agriculture and new tradition. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. flooding in the capitol of the philippines is starting to recede. rob mcbride has more from manila. >> reporter: here they are under what is known as state of calamity that's because much of the providence is under water. they are suffering here from these torrential rains. the residents tell us at the moment the water level is fairly low. over the last few days it has been up to waste height and even

higher. when that happens the found floors become indundated and people have to move to their upstairs rooms or evacuate. they are caught between two weather systems. there are typhoon strength weather systems, and that has collided between the southwest monsoon. we are told that the philippines has had a staggering one meter of rainfall. the forecasters are predicting that maybe by the end of the week the rains may start to ease. ur -- uruguay has become the

second country to allow same-sex marriage. >> reporter: [ inaudible ] works in what he calls a gay-friendly hotel in the historic district. he has fought for equality since the '80s, when uruguay was under military dictatorship. >> translator: 20 years ago i would have been put in prison for protesting, and today i can get married. >> reporter: they were the first to register to marry here when uruguay became the second country to legalize same-sex marriage. >> translator: laws determine how society reacts. with this bill we're feeling support in the streets everywhere.

>> reporter: august 5th was the day that sparked celebrations. it came a few years after argentina became the first country to allow same-sex marriage. the catholic church erased concerns. most people were behind the change. the president is credited with tackling controversial issues like gay marriage and legalizing marijuana. >> translator: the president supports social movements. >> reporter: human rights activists say that this decision

will have huge implications. here people have told us that they think many same-sex couples will be coming in the next days to get married. they finally got their wedding data signed. after living together 14 years. the slots where couples sign no longer say mr. and mrs., a small detail which marks a huge change. the ailing u.s. photography firm kodak has been given the chance to snap it's a back into the black. a u.s. court is offering a financial lifeline. >> reporter: kodak is still one of the world's 50 most iconic brands. millions of people around the

world have recorded their own kodak moment. kodak's own moment came at a time when the company ruled the film world. in 1975 one of its engineers invented digital photography, but management failed to spot the significance. >> they didn't recognize that digital is going to replace film, figuring that we don't want to hurt our film business which is where they make their money. it was just devastating. >> reporter: but the time the executives realized, asian countries already controlled the industry. kodak was forced to layoff employees, and demolish buildings.

at last kodak filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. [ technical difficulties ] may be slow to return. >> they are going to go in the commercial printing business, which is highly fragmented, and highly competitive, so it's not going to be that easy for them to compete in. >> reporter: kodak's fall from grace has hurt a lot of its

retearees and the town in which it is based. greece's new state broadcaster has begun airing news programs more than two months after the government closed down the old state broadcasting. the move lead to staff occupying the company's headquarters. in kenya a farmer has built an application for mobile phones that could improve agriculture. it is designed to give farmers information on their livestock previously only enjoyed by large organizations. >> reporter: these cows have a heady responsibility. together they feed, clothe, and

educate this entire family. their milk earns enough money to live off, but not enough money to earn expert advise. they can't improve their productivity without that kind of support. that's why one kenyan farmer worked with some of the country's most promising software developers to produce i-cow. >> increased yields, and product, any product that can help that happen to the farmers and is, you know, on the marketplace is of huge value to the farmers, so i think the opportunities are huge. >> reporter: i-cow was designed for the most common form of communication in africa, the mobile phone. farmers register their animals along with information about fertility cycles and get regular messages at key moments in the

life of the animal. >> when was this cow born? >> this cow was born a month ago. >> reporter: he signed on when he knew one of his cows was pregnant. >> they tell me it is the time to -- to dry your cow, it is the time to -- to stop milking. now i saw it's a good innovation, that's why i registered my cow. >> reporter: he said the information is hugely important in manage his animals. it's a blend of old fashioned farming with new technology. but because the source of information is so far removed from the animals themselves, farmers can't afford to abandon traditional practices. >> reporter: i-cow's developers

say it isn't meant as a substitute for farmer's records, but it could make life just a little bit easier for millions of farmers. a reminder that you can keep up to date with all of the news on our website, aljazeera.com.